Tag: WMO

  Record ocean heat, high land-surface temperatures and devastating flooding were some of the defining characteristics of the global climate in 2014, which was nominally the warmest year on record, although by a very small margin, according to a detailed analysis by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2014 confirmed the continuation of the warming trend over the past few decades, with 14 of the 15 hottest years on record occurring this century.  The report gave details of national and regional temperatures and precipitation, tropical cyclones, sea level rise and sea ice extent. It included an analysis from the Met Office in the United Kingdom on the human influence on climate, which significantly increased the likelihood of the observed record-breaking temperatures in the United Kingdom in 2014. The report was released to coincide with World Meteorological Day 23 March which promotes the theme “Climate Knowledge for Climate Action”. This title was chosen to highlight the progress in climate science and services like seasonal predictions, and to encourage the international community to move this year towards ambitious decisions and actions to address climate variability and change. “We have sound climate knowledge to ...

Nearly 500 climate experts, policy makers and representatives from space agencies and industry will join in the debate to identify how observations from current and future satellites will address the grand research challenges identified by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). EUMETSAT Director-General Alain Ratier said, “After the publication of the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC and one year before the next Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, our purpose is to bring together scientists and space agencies to connect satellite observations to the climate challenges we are facing. This means not only to understand climate change but also to establish on the best possible scientific foundation the climate information services expected by decision makers.” The symposium will provide new inputs to the design of the global architecture for climate monitoring from space being established by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites, in response to the needs of the World Meteorological Organization, the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS).A number of high level speakers will open the symposium, including Ms Brigitte Zypries, German State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Energy, Mr Klaus-Peter Willsch, Chairman of the ...